U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

BJS

Pat terns & Trends

DECEMBER 2013, NCJ 243035 

Homicide in the U.S. Known to 

Law Enforcement, 2011

Erica L. Smith and Alexia Cooper, Ph.D., BJS Statisticians

Highlights 

 The U.S. homicide rate declined by nearly half (49%), from 

9.3 homicides per 100,000 U.S. residents in 1992 to 4.7 in 2011, 

falling to the lowest level since 1963. 

 From 2002 to 2011, the average homicide rate for males was 

3.6 times higher than the rate for females. The average homicide 

rate for blacks was 6.3 times higher than the rate for whites. 

 From 2002 to 2011, young adults ages 18 to 24 had the highest 

homicide rate of any age group and experienced the greatest 

rate decline (down 22%) over the 10-year period, from 15.2 per 

100,000 in 2002 to 11.9 in 2011. 

 The rate of homicides involving a firearm decreased by 49% from 

1992 to 2011, while the percentage of homicide victims killed by 

a firearm (67%) remained stable. 

 Large cities of 100,000 or more residents experienced the largest 

decline (23%) in homicide rates from 2002 to 2011, compared to 

communities with less than 100,000 residents. 

 From 2002 to 2011, the majority (95%) of homicide incidents 

involved a single victim. In 2011, 66% of homicides with a single 

victim involved a firearm, compared to 79% of homicide incidents 

with multiple victims. 

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Number

Rate

Rate per 100,000 U.S. residents

0

3

6

9

12

15

Figure 1

Number and rate of homicides in the U.S., 1960–2011

Note: Includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter only.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 1960–2011.

I

n 2011, an estimated 14,610 persons were 

victims of homicide in the United States, 

according to FBI data on homicides known to 

state and local law enforcement (figure 1). This is 

the lowest number of homicide victims since 1968, 

and marks the fifth consecutive year of decline. 

The homicide rate in 2011 was 4.7 homicides per 

100,000 persons, the lowest level since 1963. This 

homicide rate was also 54% below its peak of 

10.2 per 100,000 persons in 1980 and 17% below 

the rate in 2002 (5.6 homicides per 100,000).

These findings are based on analyses conducted 

by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) using data 

from the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports 

(SHR). The SHR collects detailed information 

on each homicide reported to state and local 

law enforcement in the United States, including 

victim and suspected offender demographic 

characteristics, the type of weapon used during 

the incident, and the number of victims killed 

during the incident. This report describes 

homicides known to law enforcement in 2011, 

the most recent year for which detailed data are 

available, and examines homicide trends from 

1992 to 2011, with selected findings from 1960. 
Pat terns & Trends

Two national sources of homicide data: the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide 

Reports (SHR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 

National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)

National estimates of the annual number of homicides 

known to law enforcement in the United States found 

in this report are derived from data submitted to the 

FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.1 In 

2011, more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies 

voluntarily submitted annual summary counts of crimes 

brought to their attention that year. More detailed 

information specifically on homicides is collected by 

the FBI through the Supplementary Homicide Reports 

(SHR), which is part of the UCR. Instead of a summary 

count of homicides, participating law enforcement 

agencies provide information on the sex, age, and race 

of homicide victims and offenders, as well as other 

incident- and victim-specific characteristics, such as 

the victim-offender relationship, weapon use, and 

circumstance of the crime.

The SHR captures only information on criminal homicide 

incidents known and handled by state and local law 

enforcement that occur in the United States, including 

homicides involving victims who were not U.S. residents. 

Homicides of U.S. residents that occur outside of 

the United States and homicides handled by federal 

law enforcement are not included in the SHR data. 

Homicides that are classified as negligent or involuntary 

are also not included in the SHR. In this analysis of the 

SHR data, homicide is defined as homicides known 

to law enforcement that were classified as murder 

or nonnegligent manslaughter. In the SHR, the 

determination that a crime was a homicide is made 

solely based on police investigation, and is not the result 

of the decision of a court, medical examiner, coroner, 

jury, or other non-law enforcement entity.

1For more information on the FBI’s UCR, see www.fbi.gov/about-us/

cjis/ucr/ucr.

A second source of national data on homicide is the 

National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), a data collection 

administered by the National Center for Health Statistics 

(NCHS), a division of the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC). Data collected through the NVSS 

provide information on the number of injury-related 

deaths and the death rate for U.S. residents, as well as 

demographic information about the victims. These 

data are based on death certificates filed with state 

vital-statistics offices in the 50 states and the District of 

Columbia that include primary cause of death.

Cause of death is coded using the International Statistical 

Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 

10th Revision (ICD-10). The definition of homicide used 

in the ICD-10 is “injuries inflicted by another person with 

intent to injure or kill, by any means.” In the NVSS, the 

determination that a death was a homicide is made by 

the physician, medical examiner, or coroner responsible 

for certifying the death certificate. In the calculation of 

the homicide rate, the NVSS does not include homicides 

resulting from legal intervention and operations of 

war. However, the NVSS does include deaths resulting 

from assault that occurred one year or more after the 

originating event. For more information, see the online 

version of the ICD-10, available from the World Health 

Organization at http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/

icdonlineversions/en/. 

HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 2

(Continued on next page.)
Pat terns & Trends

HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 3

Two national sources of homicide data: the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide 

Reports (SHR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 

National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) 

Of the two sources, NVSS data estimate a higher annual 

number of homicides. Over the 20-year period from 1992 

to 2011, the NVSS count of homicides was consistently 

higher than the homicide count estimated from SHR data 

(figure 2). The NVSS average annual estimate was about 

1,255 homicides higher than the SHR annual estimate. 

Similarly, the average homicide rate based on the NVSS 

was 0.4 homicides per 100,000 persons higher than the 

homicide rate based on the SHR (figure 3). Despite these 

differences, the two sources show very similar trends 

for the number and rate of homicides over the most 

recent 10-year period. From 2002 to 2011, both the NVSS 

and the SHR reported a 10% decrease in the number of 

homicides and a 17% decline in the homicide rate. 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

NVSS 

SHR

1992 1997 2002 2007 2011

Rate per 100,000 population

Figure 3

Homicide rates in the SHR and NVSS, 1992–2011

Note: Preliminary CDC homicide estimates for 2011 retrieved from Hoyert, 

D.L. & Xu, J.Q. (2012), Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011, National Vital 

Statistics Reports, 61(6).

Sources: Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011; and Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention 

and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved September 2013 from www.cdc.gov/

ncipc/wisqars.

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

NVSS 

 SHR 

1992 1997 2002 2007 2011

Number

Figure 2

Number of homicides in the SHR and NVSS, 1992–2011

Note: Preliminary CDC homicide estimates for 2011 retrieved from Hoyert, 

D.L. & Xu, J.Q. (2012), Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011, National Vital 

Statistics Reports, 61(6).

Sources: Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011; and Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention 

and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System 

(WISQARS), 1993–2010. Retrieved September 2013 from www.cdc.gov/

ncipc/wisqars.
Pat terns & Trends

Table 1

Number and rate of homicides in the U.S., by victim demographic characteristics, 2002–2011

Sex Race Age

Year All victims Male Female White

Black/African 

American Other*

11 or 

younger 12–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50–64

65 or 

older

Number of homicides

2002 16,230 12,475 3,755 7,805 7,990 435 790 825 4,345 4,305 3,875 1,365 720

2003 16,530 12,835 3,690 7,985 8,080 465 790 785 4,510 4,375 3,890 1,425 750

2004 16,150 12,600 3,550 7,980 7,755 415 765 860 4,165 4,295 3,800 1,510 755

2005 16,740 13,180 3,560 8,050 8,255 435 745 925 4,405 4,480 3,880 1,560 740

2006 17,310 13,655 3,655 8,135 8,710 460 780 1,035 4,615 4,545 3,920 1,755 660

2007 17,130 13,460 3,665 8,110 8,610 405 800 1,035 4,485 4,570 3,875 1,680 675

2008 16,465 12,900 3,565 8,020 8,070 375 810 955 4,065 4,445 3,745 1,705 745

2009 15,400 11,880 3,520 7,485 7,495 425 730 840 3,840 3,975 3,590 1,685 745

2010 14,720 11,410 3,315 6,885 7,450 385 710 770 3,655 4,025 3,200 1,700 665

2011 14,610 11,370 3,240 6,830 7,380 400 740 665 3,680 3,850 3,260 1,710 700

Rate per 100,000 

 U.S. residents

2002 5.6 8.8 2.6 3.3 21.2 2.7 1.6 3.3 15.2 10.9 5.9 3.0 2.0

2003 5.7 9.0 2.5 3.4 21.2 2.9 1.6 3.1 15.6 11.1 5.9 3.0 2.1

2004 5.5 8.7 2.4 3.4 20.1 2.5 1.6 3.4 14.2 10.9 5.8 3.1 2.1

2005 5.7 9.1 2.4 3.4 21.2 2.5 1.5 3.6 14.9 11.3 5.9 3.1 2.0

2006 5.8 9.3 2.4 3.4 22.1 2.6 1.6 4.1 15.5 11.4 6.0 3.4 1.8

2007 5.7 9.1 2.4 3.3 21.5 2.2 1.6 4.1 15.0 11.4 5.9 3.1 1.8

2008 5.4 8.6 2.3 3.3 19.9 2.0 1.6 3.8 13.4 10.9 5.8 3.1 1.9

2009 5.0 7.8 2.3 3.0 18.3 2.2 1.5 3.4 12.5 9.6 5.6 3.0 1.9

2010 4.8 7.5 2.1 2.8 17.7 1.8 1.4 3.0 11.9 9.8 5.0 2.9 1.6

2011 4.7 7.4 2.0 2.8 17.3 1.8 1.5 2.7 11.9 9.2 5.2 2.8 1.7

Note: Data may not sum to total due to rounding. Counts rounded to the nearest 5. Homicide rates by Hispanic or Latino origin were not calculated due to missing 

data on ethnicity. See Methodology.

*Includes persons identified as American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

Figure 4

Homicide rates, by sex, 1992–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data the from FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011.

Rate per 100,000 U.S. residents

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Total

Female

Male

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

The U.S. homicide rate declined by nearly half 

(49%) from 1992 to 2011 

Over the 20-year period from 1992 to 2011, the rate of 

homicide in the United States declined by 49%, from 

9.3 homicides per 100,000 residents in 1992 to 4.7 in 2011 

(figure 4). The decline in the homicide rate was higher 

during the 10-year period from 1992 to 2001 (down 39%) 

than from 2002 to 2011 (down 17%). 

On average, the homicide rate for males was 3.6 times higher 

than the homicide rate for females, from 1992 to 2011. Both 

sexes experienced similar declines in their overall rates of 

homicide during the 20-year period. From 1992 to 2011, 

the murder rate declined by half for both males (50%) and 

females (49%).

The homicide rate in 2011 was highest among 

males, blacks, and young adults 

In 2011, the murder rate for males was 7.4 homicides per 

100,000 males, or an estimated 11,370 male homicide 

victims (table 1). The murder rate for females in 2011 was 

2.0 homicides per 100,000 females, or about 3,240 female 

homicide victims. From 2002 to 2011, the homicide rate 

among males declined by 16%, while the rate for females 

decreased by 20%.

From 2002 to 2011, the homicide rate for blacks was 

6.3 times higher than the rate for whites. Over this 

10-year period, the homicide rate among whites decreased 

by 17%, from 3.3 homicides per 100,000 in 2002 to 2.8 in 

2011. Similarly, the homicide rate among blacks declined 

by 19%, from 21.2 per 100,000 in 2002 to 17.3 in 2011. 

The homicide rate for persons of other races—persons 

identified as American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, 

Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander—experienced 

the greatest decline (down 33%), from 2.7 homicides per 

100,000 persons in 2002 to 1.8 in 2011. 
Pat terns & Trends

HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 5

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Black/African American

White

 85 or 

older

Under 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

age 1

Rate per 100,000 males 

Age of victim 

Figure 5

Male homicide rates, by victim age and race, 2002–2011

Note: Homicide rates by Hispanic or Latino origin were not calculated due to 

missing data on ethnicity. See Methodology. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Black/African American 

White 

85 or 

older

Under 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

age 1

Rate per 100,000 females 

Age of victim 

Figure 6

Female homicide rates, by victim age and race, 2002–2011

Note: Homicide rates by Hispanic or Latino origin were not calculated due to 

missing data on ethnicity. See Methodology.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

In 2011, age 30 was the median age of homicide victims, 

(i.e., half of all murder victims were age 30 or younger 

and half were age 30 or older). From 2002 to 2011, 

young adults ages 18 to 24 had the highest homicide 

rate of any age group. Young adults also experienced the 

largest homicide rate decline (down 22%), from 15.2 per 

100,000 in 2002 to 11.9 in 2011. Persons age 65 or older 

(down 17%) and youth ages 12 to 17 (down 19%) also 

experienced large declines in their homicide rates from 

2002 to 2011. 

The peak homicide victimization rate for black 

males was nearly 9 times higher than the peak 

rate for white males 

The homicide rate was analyzed by age for white males, 

black males, white females, and black females to examine 

differences in the rates by age for those demographic 

groups. To achieve a sufficient number of cases to 

support this analysis, homicide and population data were 

aggregated across the 10-year period from 2002 to 2011. 

The magnitude of the homicide rate for males varied by age 

and race, although the patterns by age among black and 

white males were similar (figure 5). For example, males 

under age 15 experienced the highest rate of homicide 

during the first year of life, regardless of race. During the 

10-year period from 2002 to 2011, the average homicide 

rate for white males under age 1 was 5.1 homicides per 

100,000, compared to 12.5 per 100,000 for black males 

younger than age 1.

The homicide victimization rate for both white and black 

males increased after age 14 and into the early 20s, although 

with dramatically different trajectories. The homicide 

rate for white males peaked at age 20 (11.4 homicides per 

100,000 white males), while the homicide rate for black 

males peaked at age 23 (100.3 homicides per 100,000 black 

males). The highest murder rate for black males was nearly 

9 times higher than the highest rate for white males. After 

peaking for victims in their early 20s, the murder rate for 

both white and black males declined with age. For victims 

age 60 or older, the homicide rate for black males was more 

than 4 higher than the rate for white males. 

The homicide victimization rate for females 

was highest during the first year of life 

For the 10-year period from 2002 to 2011, females younger 

than age 1 had a higher murder rate than females of any 

other age group (figure 6). The homicide rate for females 

younger than age 1 was 4.5 homicides per 100,000 for white 

females and 10.3 per 100,000 for black females. Among 

white females, the homicide rate was highest during 

the first year of life. However, among black females, the 

homicide rate peaked at age 22 (11.8 homicides per 100,000 

black females), a level slightly above the rate for black 

females younger than age 1. In comparison, the homicide 

rate for white females at age 22 was 37% lower than the 

homicide rate for white females younger than age 1.
Pat terns & Trends

HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 6

Rate per 100,000 U.S. residents 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Other nonpersonal weapon

Personal weapon

Knife or blunt object

Firearm

1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010

Figure 7

Homicide rates, by weapon type, 1992–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011.

As with male homicide victims, the murder rates for black 

females and white females followed similar trends across 

age groups. The average homicide rate for black females 

was over 3 times higher than the rate for white females. 

For both black females and white females, the youth 

murder rate decreased after age 1. After age 11, the female 

homicide rate for both races increased substantially. 

The homicide rate for white females age 11 or older was 

greatest for ages 20 to 31, with an average homicide rate 

of 2.8 per 100,000. In comparison, the homicide rate for 

black females age 11 or older was highest for those ages 21 

to 26, with an average homicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000. 

The peak rate for black females age 11 or older was 4 times 

higher than the peak rate for white females age 11 or older. 

Homicide rates among black and white females declined 

with age after age 30. Among victims age 60 or older, 

black females experienced a homicide rate that was 

approximately 2 times higher than the rate for white 

females. In addition, the rate remained stable among 

white females age 75 or older, while the homicide rate 

among black females age 75 or older increased, from 

2.2 homicides per 100,000 for persons age 75 to 3.6 per 

100,000 for those age 83. 

The rate of homicides involving a firearm 

decreased by half from 1992 to 2011 

The homicide rate declined from 1992 to 2011, regardless 

of the type of weapon used in the crime. In 1992, the 

murder rate for incidents involving a firearm was 

6.3 homicides per 100,000 persons (figure 7). By 2011, 

the firearm-involved homicide rate was 3.2 per 100,000, 

a decline of 49% from 1992. Overall, the total number 

of homicide incidents involving a firearm declined from 

more than 16,100 in 1992 to approximately 9,900 in 2011 

(not shown in figure). 

Declines in the number and rate of firearm-involved 

homicides known to law enforcement are consistent with 

declines seen in analysis of data in which homicide was 

the primary cause of death, as recorded by physicians, 

medical examiners, and coroners through the National 

Vital Statistics System (NVSS), a data collection of the 

National Center on Health Statistics within the federal 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Over the same 20-year period, the age-adjusted firearm 

homicide rate based on data from the NVSS declined 45%, 

from 6.5 homicides per 100,000 in 1992 to 3.6 per 100,000 

in 2011 (not shown in figure).2 For more information, see 

the two national sources of homicide data in this report 

and the BJS report Firearm Violence, 1993–2011, NCJ 

241730, BJS web, May 2013.

The homicide rate for incidents involving other types of 

weapons also declined from 1992 to 2011. During this 20-year 

period, the rate of murder involving a knife or blunt object 

declined by 55%, and the rate of murder involving a personal 

weapon (including fists or feet and pushing or strangling the 

victim) decreased by 47%. The rate of homicide involving 

other nonpersonal weapons (e.g., poison, explosives, fire, 

narcotics, and unknown weapons) declined by 34%.

2Estimates of firearm-involved homicides from 1992 to 2010 were 

retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National 

Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics 

Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), 1992–2010, retrieved 

November 2013 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. Preliminary estimates 

for 2011 firearm-involved homicides were retrieved from Hoyert, D.L. 

& Xu, J.Q. (2012), Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011, National Vital 

Statistics Reports, 61(6).
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 7

Pat terns & Trends

Missing information on homicide offenders

Using data from the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide 

Reports (SHR) to estimate the characteristics of 

homicide offenders is problematic due to the number 

of homicides in the data file with no information on the 

offender demographic characteristics. This offender 

information could be missing because either the 

reporting law enforcement agency did not identify 

a suspect (i.e., the offender was unknown) or the 

agency did not report the information to the SHR (i.e., 

the offender was known but the information was not 

reported). In 2011, the most recent year for which 

SHR data are available, 31% of homicide victims had 

missing corresponding information on all three primary 

demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, race, and age) for 

homicide offenders (table 2). 

In addition, missing information about the offender 

is not distributed uniformly across homicide victims. 

Instead, it varies depending on the characteristics of the 

victim. For example, the demographic characteristics of 

the homicide offender were more likely to be missing 

in the SHR data when the homicide victims were male 

(36%) compared to female (16%), black (40%) compared 

to white (23%), older juveniles ages 12 to 17 (34%) 

compared to younger juveniles age 11 or younger (9%), 

and adults ages 18 to 34 (37%) compared to adults age 

35 or older (24%). 

Studying data on crimes cleared (i.e., considered by law 

enforcement to be solved) can provide information on 

the degree to which the missing offender information 

in the SHR data is the result of either the offender being 

unknown or the offender information being known to 

law enforcement but not reported in the data. A murder 

is cleared, or considered solved, by law enforcement 

when an offender is arrested for the crime, or when an 

offender is identified but cannot be arrested (e.g., the 

offender is deceased).

Information on whether each reported homicide is 

cleared is not included as part of the SHR. However, 

through a separate data collection effort, the FBI 

compiles information from law enforcement agencies 

on the total number of murders cleared each year. From 

1992 to 2011, the average annual murder clearance 

rate reported by the FBI was 64%, meaning that law 

enforcement could not identify an offender in 36% 

of murders. During the same period, the percentage 

of murders not cleared by law enforcement was, 

on average, about 2% lower than the percentage 

of homicides for which the sex, race, and age of the 

offender were missing in the SHR data (figure 8). This 

implies that for more than 9 in 10 murders known to 

law enforcement for which corresponding offender 

information was not available, the information was 

missing because the law enforcement agency did not 

Table 2 identify a suspect in the crime. 

Missing homicide offender characteristics data, by 

victim demographic characteristics, 2011

Victim demographic characteristic Missing offender characteristic

All victims 31.3%

Sex

Male 35.8%

Female 15.7

Race

White 22.6%

Black/African American 39.9

Other* 20.0

Age

11 or younger 8.9%

12–17 33.9

18–24 38.3

25–34 36.0

35–49 29.1

50–64 23.4

65 or older 19.4

Note: Homicide rates by Hispanic or Latino origin were not calculated due 

to missing data on ethnicity. See Methodology. 

*Includes persons identified as American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, 

Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2011.

Percent

0

10

20

30

40

50

Missing oender characteristics

Not cleared by arrest or exceptional means

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Figure 8

Homicides not cleared and missing homicide offender 

demographic characteristics data, 1992–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011 and Crime in the United 

States, 1992-2011.
Pat terns & Trends

0

2

4

6

8

10

Other rearm*

Handgun

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Rate per 100,000 males

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including 

automatic weapons.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

Figure 9

Rate of male homicides involving a firearm, by firearm 

type, 2002–2011

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Handgun

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Rate per 100,000 females

Other rearm*

Figure 10

Rate of female homicides involving a firearm, by firearm 

type, 2002–2011

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including 

automatic weapons.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

Percent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Other rearm*

Handgun

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Figure 11

Percent of male homicides involving a firearm, by firearm 

type, 2002–2011

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including 

automatic weapons.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

Percent 

0

10

20

30

40

50

Other rearm*

Handgun

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Figure 12

Percent of female homicides involving a firearm, by 

firearm type, 2002–2011

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including 

automatic weapons.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

The percentage of victims killed by a firearm 

remained relatively stable from 1992 to 2011 

While the rate of murder involving a firearm declined 

by half from 1992 to 2011 for both males and females 

(figures 9 and 10), the percentage of male and female 

murders committed with a firearm changed little over 

the period (figures 11 and 12). In both 1992 and 2011, 

firearms were reportedly used in 73% of all murders of 

males and in 49% of all murders of females, with minor 

fluctuations during the period. 

Handguns were more commonly involved in homicides 

than other types of firearms. From 1992 to 2011, handguns 

were used in an average of 57% of male homicides and 

in 35% of female homicides. An additional 16% of male 

homicide victims and 13% of female homicide victims 

were killed with some other type of firearm (e.g., rifles, 

shotguns, and firearms of unknown type). 

The percentage of homicides that involved a 

firearm was generally stable across periods for 

various victim types 

The percentage of homicides involving a firearm was 

examined by age for white males, black males, white 

females, and black females across different periods to 

assess whether the percentage of homicides involving a 

firearm had changed over time for different demographics 

of victims. Data on the percentage of homicides known 

to law enforcement agencies that involved a firearm were 

calculated for the most recent period from 2008 to 2011 

and compared to the percentage of firearm-involved 

homicides from 1992 to 1995, the period within the past 

20 years during which the homicide rate peaked. 

Overall, the percentage of homicides involving a 

firearm was similar across the two periods, regardless 

of victim demographics. Although the number and rate 
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 9

Pat terns & Trends

0

20

40

60

80

100

2008–2011

1992–1995

65 or 

older Younger 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60than 1

Percent 

Age of victim 

Figure 13

Percent of white male homicides involving a firearm, by 

victim age, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011.

Figure 14

Percent of white female homicides involving a firearm, by 

victim age, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011

0

20

40

60

80

100

65 or 

older Younger 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60than 1

Percent 

Age of victim 

2008–2011

1992–1995

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011.

Figure 15

Percent of black male homicides involving a firearm, by 

victim age, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011

0

20

40

60

80

100

2008–2011

1992–1995

65 or 

older Younger 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60than 1

Percent

Age of victim 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011.

Figure 16

Percent of black female homicides involving a firearm, by 

victim age, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011

0

20

40

60

80

100

2008–2011

1992–1995

65 or 

older Younger 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60than 1

Percent

Age of victim 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–1995 and 2008–2011.

of homicides have both decreased substantially since the 

early 1990s, the nature of firearm use in homicides has 

not changed. Data show that white males were the only 

demographic category to have a noticeable decrease in 

the percentage of homicides involving a firearm from the 

early to mid-1990s to the late 2000s (figure 13). For white 

females, the percentage of firearm-involved homicides was 

nearly the same during the two periods, regardless of age 

(figure 14). 

Among black male and black female victims, the 

percentage of murders involving a firearm was similar 

between the early to mid-1990s and the late 2000s, 

with a few exceptions (figures 15 and 16). For example, 

black male victims ages 25 to 45 experienced a higher 

proportion of homicides involving a firearm from 2008 

to 2011 than from 1992 to 1995, while the opposite was 

true for white male victims in the same age range. In 

addition, black female victims ages 18 to 41 were more 

likely to be murdered with a firearm from 2008 to 2011 

than from 1992 to 1995. In comparison, the percentage of 

white females ages 18 to 41 killed with a firearm was lower 

during the most recent period than during the early to 

mid-1990s.
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 10

Pat terns & Trends

Firearm use in nonfatal violent victimizations

The proportion of nonfatal violent victimizations (rape 

or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and 

simple assault) involving a firearm was calculated to 

examine whether it followed the same trend over time 

as the proportion of homicides involving a firearm. 

Data on nonfatal violent victimizations come from BJS’s 

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which 

collects information on nonfatal crimes reported and 

not reported to the police against persons age 12 

or older from a nationally representative sample of 

U.S. households. The percentages of nonfatal violent 

victimizations of males and females age 12 or older 

that involved a firearm were compared for the periods 

1993 to 1995 and 2008 to 2011 for six different victim 

age categories. Like the pattern among homicides, the 

proportion of nonfatal violent victimizations involving 

a firearm for 1993 to 1995 was similar to the proportion 

for 2008 to 2011, across most of the victim sex and age 

groups (figures 17 and 18). Exceptions were found 

in three categories of victims—males ages 12 to 17, 

females ages 12 to 17, and males ages 35 to 49—each of 

which experienced a decrease between the two periods 

in the percentage of nonfatal violent victimizations 

involving a firearm. For additional information on 

nonfatal violent victimizations involving firearms, see 

Firearm Violence, 1993–2011, NCJ 241730, BJS web, May 

2013, and National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) 

data on the BJS website.

Percent 

Victim age

2008–2011

1993–1995

-10

0

10

20

30

12–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50–64 65 or older

Figure 17

Level for nonfatal violent victimizations of males 

involving a firearm, by victim age with confidence 

intervals at 95%, 1993–1995 and 2008–2011

Note: Each vertical bar shows the range within which the true 

victimization rate was likely to fall.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–1995 and 2008–2011.

Figure 18

Level for nonfatal violent victimizations of females 

involving a firearm, by victim age with confidence 

intervals at 95%, 1993–1995 and 2008–2011

Percent 

Victim age

2008–2011

1993–1995

-10

0

10

20

30

12–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50–64 65 or older

Note: Each vertical bar shows the range within which the true 

victimization rate was likely to fall.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

1993–1995 and 2008–2011.
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 11

Pat terns & Trends

Rate per 100,000 residents 

0

10

20

30

40

Rural areas

Suburban areas

Small cities, 99,999 or fewer

Large cities, 100,000–499,999

Large cities, 500,000 or more

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Figure 19

Homicide rate, by community type, 1992–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011.

Rate change 

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Rural areas

Suburban areas

Small cities, 99,999 or fewer

Large cities, 100,000–499,999

Large cities, 500,000 or more

Figure 20

Homicide rate change, by community type, 2002–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

In 2011, the homicide rate in all types of 

communities fell to the lowest point in 20 years 

Using SHR data, trends in homicide rates were examined 

for five different types of communities: large cities with 

500,000 or more residents, large cities with 100,000 

to 499,999 residents, small cities with 99,999 or fewer 

residents, suburban areas, and rural areas. The murder rate 

in all five types of communities decreased from 1992 to 

2011 (figure 19). The largest declines occurred from 1992 

to 2002. During this period, the homicide rate declined by 

half (down 49%) in the largest urban areas with 500,000 

or more residents and decreased by about a third both in 

urban areas with 100,000 to 499,999 residents (down 37%) 

and in urban areas with 99,999 or fewer residents (down 

31%). The homicide rate in suburban areas declined by 

42%, and in rural areas by 27%. 

From 2002 to 2011, the murder rate also declined in each 

type of community, but by a smaller percentage. Large 

urban areas had the largest declines. Cities with 100,000 to 

499,999 residents and those with 500,000 or more residents 

experienced a 23% decline in the murder rates during this 

period. In large cities with populations of 500,000 or more 

residents, the homicide rate decreased from 14.2 homicides 

per 100,000 in 2002 to 10.9 in 2011. Similarly, in cities with 

populations of 100,000 to 499,999, the rate declined from 

9.9 homicides per 100,000 in 2002 to 7.7 in 2011. 

Although the murder rate in other types of communities 

also dropped from 2002 to 2011, the declines were more 

modest. The homicide rate in suburban areas declined by 

13% over the 10-year period from 2002–2011, from 5.4 to 

4.7 homicides per 100,000. In comparison, the homicide 

rate in small cities with 99,999 or fewer residents did not 

change substantially, decreasing from 2.0 homicides per 

100,000 in 2002 to 1.8 in 2011. Rural areas also saw little 

change, declining from 3.4 homicides per 100,000 in 2002 

to 3.1 in 2011. 

The homicide rate in large cities decreased by 

nearly a quarter from 2002 to 2011 

To better examine trends in murder rates by type of 

community from 2002 to 2011, the annual homicide rate 

from 2003 to 2011 was compared to the 2002 rate in that 

area. The absolute change in the rate was calculated for 

each year, with positive numbers indicating an increase 

from the homicide rate in 2002 and negative numbers 

demonstrating a reduction from the 2002 baseline. This 

allowed for an examination of the trends in the homicide 

rate for each type of community. 

Cities with 100,000 or more residents showed the largest 

decreases in homicide rates from 2002 to 2011, but the 

decline was not uniform across the period (figure 20). For 

example, while large cities with 500,000 or more residents 

experienced the largest net decline over the period, the 

murder rates in 2002 and 2006 were similar. After 2006, 

the homicide rate dropped rapidly, reaching its lowest 

level in the last decade in 2011. 

In comparison to large cities, the homicide rate in 

suburban areas increased slightly from 2002 to 2007, then 

decreased through 2011. While the rate fluctuated over 

the 10-year period, the overall number of homicides in 

suburban areas in 2011 was nearly equal to the number 

in 2002. Small cities with less than 100,000 residents 

and rural areas also experienced little change in their 

respective homicide rates from 2002 to 2011.
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 12

Pat terns & Trends

Table 3

 Weapon use in homicides, by victim sex and community type, 2011

Percent of homicides involving a—

Victim sex and community type Number of homicides Percent Handgun Other firearm*

Knife or 

blunt object

Personal 

weapon

Other nonpersonal 

weapon

Total 14,610 100% 49.5% 18.4% 17.2% 7.3% 7.6%

Male victims 11,370 100% 53.9 19.2 15.8 5.0 6.1

Urban area 8,355 100% 57.6 18.3 14.4 4.5 5.2

99,999 or fewer 1,620 100% 46.7 19.8 19.9 6.7 6.8

100,000–249,999 1,415 100% 49.0 25.7 13.9 5.7 5.7

250,000–499,999 1,405 100% 59.1 22.7 10.7 3.1 4.4

500,000–999,999 1,585 100% 53.4 22.7 14.3 4.8 4.7

1 million or more 2,330 100% 72.2 6.9 13.4 2.9 4.6

Suburban area 2,350 100% 47.2 20.4 19.2 5.9 7.2

Rural area 660 100% 31.8 27.1 20.3 7.9 13.0

Female victims 3,240 100% 33.8 15.5 22.2 15.5 13.0

Urban area 1,945 100% 34.8 12.7 23.5 16.6 12.4

99,999 or fewer 560 100% 30.5 13.8 24.6 20.7 10.5

100,000–249,999 375 100% 34.5 14.1 21.0 14.9 15.5

250,000–499,999 275 100% 39.8 20.1 15.2 13.5 11.4

500,000–999,999 315 100% 33.5 14.7 23.1 18.3 10.5

1 million or more 420 100% 38.7 3.8 29.8 13.5 14.2

Suburban area 1,015 100% 33.2 17.1 21.0 15.1 13.7

Rural area 290 100% 29.3 29.2 17.9 9.1 14.5

Note: Personal weapon includes pushed or thrown out window, drowning, asphyxiation, and strangulation or hanging; other nonpersonal weapon includes 

poison, explosives, fire, narcotics or drugs, and unknown weapons.

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including automatic weapons. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2011.

Figure 21

Homicides involving a firearm, by community type, 

1992–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1992–2011.

Percent

0

20

40

60

80

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011

Rural areas

Suburban areas

Small cities, 99,999 or fewer

Large cities, 100,000 –499,999

Large cities, 500,000 or more

Rural areas experienced a decrease in the 

percentage of homicides involving a firearm 

from 1992 to 2011 

From 1992 to 2011, the percentage of homicides involving 

a firearm fluctuated for all five types of communities 

(figure 21). During that period, the percentage of 

homicide victims killed with a firearm increased by nearly 

6 percentage points in urban areas with 100,000 to 499,999 

residents, but decreased about 2 percentage points in 

urban areas with 500,000 or more residents. The overall 

percentage of homicides involving a firearm in small cities 

with 99,999 or fewer residents and in suburban areas 

was about the same in 2011 as in 1992. In rural areas, the 

percentage of homicides involving a firearm decreased by 

8 percentage points during the same period. 

From 2002 to 2011, rural areas experienced an overall 

decline in the percentage of homicides involving a firearm. 

In comparison, urban areas with 100,000 to 499,999 

residents and those with 500,000 or more residents 

experienced an increase in the percentage of homicides 

involving a firearm. 

The percentage of males and females killed 

with a firearm differed by community type 

Overall, an estimated two-thirds (68%) of murders that 

occurred in 2011 involved a firearm, with nearly half (49%) 

involving a handgun (table 3). Knives or blunt objects were 

used in 17% of homicides, and personal weapons (e.g., 

hands, fists, or feet) and other weapons (e.g., poison, fire, or 

explosives) were used in 15% of murders.
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 13

Pat terns & Trends

Table 4

Homicides involving a firearm, by victim sex, community type, and firearm type, 2011

Number

Percent involving—

Victim sex and community type All firearms Handgun Other firearm*

Total 9,915 100% 72.9 27.1

Male victims 8,315 100% 73.7 26.3

Urban area 6,335 100% 75.9 24.1

99,999 or fewer 1,080 100% 70.2 29.8

100,000–249,999 1,055 100% 65.6 34.4

250,000–499,999 1,150 100% 72.3 27.7

500,000–999,999 1,205 100% 70.1 29.9

1 million or more 1,845 100% 91.2 8.8

Suburban area 1,590 100% 69.8 30.2

Rural area 390 100% 54.1 45.9

Female victims 1,600 100% 68.5 31.5

Urban area 925 100% 73.3 26.7

99,999 or fewer 250 100% 68.9 31.1

100,000–249,999 180 100% 71.0 29.0

250,000–499,999 165 100% 66.5 33.5

500,000–999,999 150 100% 69.5 30.5

1 million or more 180 100% 91.0 9.0

Suburban area 510 100% 66.0 34.0

Rural area 170 100% 50.1 49.9

Note: Data may not sum to total due to rounding. Counts rounded to the nearest 5. 

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including automatic weapons. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2011.

In 2011, males (73%) were more likely than females 

(49%) to be killed with a firearm. In comparison, female 

homicide victims were more likely than male victims to be 

killed with a weapon other than a firearm. The percentage 

of female victims killed with a personal weapon (15%) in 

2011 was 3 times higher than the comparable percentage 

of male victims (5%). 

The type of community in which the homicide occurred 

was also related to the type of weapon used in the 

homicide. Across all types of communities in 2011, a 

higher proportion of male homicide victims was killed by 

a firearm than any other weapon. In urban and suburban 

areas, homicides of males involving a firearm were more 

than twice as likely to include a handgun than other 

types of firearms (e.g., a rifle, shotgun, or firearm of an 

unreported type). In the largest cities with 1 million or 

more residents, homicides involving a handgun were even 

more common, with male victims being 10 times more 

likely to be killed by a handgun (72%) than other types 

of firearms (7%). In comparison, male homicide victims 

in rural areas were almost equally likely to be killed with 

a handgun (32%) as another type of firearm other than a 

handgun (27%). 

About half of all firearm homicides in rural 

areas involved a firearm other than a handgun 

In 2011, of the more than 9,900 homicides involving a 

firearm, an estimated 73% involved a handgun (table 4). 

The percentage of firearm homicides committed with a 

handgun was similar among males and females, although 

the percentage fluctuated by type of community. Firearm 

homicides were more likely to involve a handgun if the 

murder occurred in a large city with 1 million or more 

residents (91%) than other urban areas, regardless of the 

sex of the victim. Similarly, nearly half (47%) of firearm 

homicides that occurred in rural areas involved a firearm 

other than a handgun, such as a rifle, shotgun, or other 

unspecified firearm, compared to about a quarter (24%) of 

firearm homicides in urban areas and about a third (31%) 

of firearm homicides in suburban areas.
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 14

Pat terns & Trends

Percent 

0

1

2

3

4

5

4 or more victims

3 victims

2 victims

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Figure 22

Percent of homicides involving two or more victims, 

2002–2011

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, 

Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2002–2011.

3Due to the underlying data structure of the SHR, incidents of mass 

homicide are difficult to count. Although information on homicides 

involving more than one victim is presented, these data should be used 

with caution. See Methodology for details on multiple-victim homicides.

Table 5

Homicides in the U.S., by the number of victims killed and weapon type, 2011

Number of 

homicide victims

Percent of homicides involving a—

Number of

homicide incidents Total

Firearm

Any firearm Handgun Other firearm Other weapon *

Total 13,750 100% 67.1 49.4 17.7 32.9

1 victim 13,050 100% 66.5 49.3 17.2 33.5

2 victims 565 100% 77.3 52.0 25.3 22.7

3 victims 110 100% 82.3 47.1 35.2 17.7

4 or more victims 25 100% 90.8 44.2 46.6 9.2 !

Note: Due to limitations of the data, the incident count presented above may not accurately reflect the total number of unique homicide incidents in the United 

States. For more information on how homicide incidents are counted, see Methodology. 

*Includes rifles, shotguns, and firearms of unspecified type, including automatic weapons. 

!Interpret data with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer incidents.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2011.

Since 2002, the percentage of homicide 

incidents involving two or more victims has 

remained relatively stable 

From 2002 to 2011, the majority (95%) of homicide 

incidents involved the killing of a single victim (not 

shown in figure).3 During the same period, about 4% of 

homicide incidents involved two victims, 0.6% involved 

three victims, and 0.2% involved four or more victims 

(figure 22). In 2011, about 110 homicide incidents 

involved three victims, or less than 1% of all homicides 

that year. Homicide incidents involving four or more 

victims were even less frequent. In 2011, of an estimated 

13,750 reported homicide incidents, about 25 involved 

four or more victims. 

Multiple-victim homicides were more likely 

than single-victim homicides to involve 

firearms other than handguns

In 2011, 66% of single-victim homicides involved a 

firearm, and 79% of homicide incidents with multiple 

victims involved a firearm (table 5). Among homicides 

reported by law enforcement, the percentage of homicide 

incidents involving a firearm increased with the number 

of victims killed in the incident. In 2011, 77% of incidents 

in which two victims were killed involved a firearm, 

compared to 82% among homicides in which three 

victims were killed. For incidents involving four or more 

victims, 91% of the homicides involved a firearm. 

The percentage of homicides involving a handgun 

(49%) remained relatively stable, regardless of the 

number of victims killed during the incident. However, 

a larger percentage of multiple-victim homicides than 

single-victim homicides involved a firearm other than 

a handgun. An estimated 17% of homicides involving 

one victim were committed with a firearm other than a 

handgun, compared to 25% of homicides involving two 

victims, 35% of homicides involving three victims, and 

47% of homicides involving four or more victims.
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 15

Pat terns & Trends

Methodology 

Data sources 

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, 

launched over 80 years ago, collects and publishes 

annual statistics on criminal offenses known to law 

enforcement and on arrests. Information on reported 

offenses is limited to eight offenses: homicide, forcible 

rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, 

motor vehicle theft, and arson. Data on the number of 

arrests includes many additional types of crime, such as 

drug abuse violations and driving under the influence. 

The FBI annually publishes data from the UCR in Crime 

in the United States, available at http://www.fbi.gov/

about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr#ucr_cius. The UCR is one of two 

major national indicators about crime, along with BJS’s 

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). For more 

information about these two indicators, see The Nation’s 

Two Crime Measures, NCJ 122705, BJS web, October 2004. 

The UCR collects data on only those crimes that come to 

the attention of law enforcement through direct reports 

or observation. Of all the crimes included in the UCR, 

homicide incidents are the most completely documented. 

Information on other serious offenses (e.g., forcible rape, 

robbery, and aggravated assault) is currently available at 

the national level only in summary counts and without 

any details about the incident, victims, or offenders. 

Such incident-specific detail is available nationally on 

homicides through the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide 

Reports (SHR). 

Supplementary Homicide Reports 

Most of the data used in this report are from the SHR, 

which is a part of the FBI’s UCR program. Supplementary 

data about homicide incidents include details on 

location, weapon, and victim and offender demographic 

characteristics. These SHR data include information on the 

reporting agency and its residential population; county and 

Metropolitan Statistical Area designations; geographical 

division and population group; the sex, age, and race of 

victims and offenders; and the victim-offender relationship, 

weapon use, and circumstance of the crime. Contributing 

law enforcement agencies provided supplementary 

homicide data for 317,492 (89%) of the estimated 356,470 

murders that took place from 1992 to 2011.

In this report, homicide is used interchangeably with 

murder, and includes both murder and nonnegligent 

manslaughter, which is the willful killing of one human 

being by another. The analyses presented exclude deaths 

caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable 

homicides; attempts to murder; and murders of U.S. 

residents that occurred outside the United States. Deaths 

from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are also 

not included in these analyses. The data included in the 

SHR are on homicides known to law enforcement. The 

determination that a crime was a homicide was made 

solely based on police investigation rather than the 

decision of a court, medical examiner, coroner, jury, or 

other non-law enforcement entity. 

All rates were calculated by dividing the estimated number 

of homicide victims by estimates of the U.S. resident 

population for the appropriate group. This report used 

bridged-race population estimates developed by the 

National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census 

Bureau, unless otherwise specified. The bridged-race data 

are available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/bridged_ 

race/data_documentation.htm. All rates were per 100,000 

U.S. residents. 

Homicide estimates in this report were based on 

homicides with known attributes and have been rounded 

to the nearest 5, unless otherwise indicated. The National 

Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) stores the data 

from which the analyses in this report are based. Annual 

SHR data files are available from NACJD at www.icpsr. 

umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD. 

Weighting 

The SHR data were weighted to compensate for the 

average annual 10% of homicides that were not reported 

to the SHR. The development of the set of annual weights 

is a three-step process. 

Each year the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States 

report presents a national estimate of murder victims 

in the United States and estimates of the number of 

murder victims in each of the 50 states and the District 

of Columbia. The first stage weight uses the FBI’s annual 

estimates of murder victims in each state and the number 

of murder victims from that state found in the annual SHR 

database. 

Specifically, the first stage weight for victims in state S in 

year Y is—

FBI’s estimate of murder victims in state S(Year Y)

Number of murder victims in the SHR file from state S(Year Y)

For complete reporting states, this first stage weight is 

equal to 1. For partial reporting states, this weight is 

greater than 1. For states with a first stage weight greater 

than 2—that is, the state reported SHR data for less than 

half of the FBI’s estimated number of murder victims in 

the state—the first stage weight is set to 1. 
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 16

Pat terns & Trends

The second stage weight uses the FBI’s annual national 

estimates of murder victims in the United States and the 

sum of the first stage weights for each state. The second 

stage weight for victims in all states in year Y is— 

FBI’s estimate of murder victims in the United States (Year Y)

Sum of the first stage weights of all states(Year Y)

The third step in the process is to calculate the final annual 

victim-level SHR weight. The weight used to develop 

national estimates of the attributes of murder victims is— 

SHR weight(Year Y) = (first stage weight(Year Y)) X (second stage 

weight(Year Y))

Conceptually, the first stage weight uses a state’s own 

reported SHR records to represent all murder victims in 

that state, as long as at least 50% of the estimated number 

of murder victims in that state has a record in the SHR. 

The sum of the first stage weights then equals the sum of 

the total number of all murder victims in states with at 

least 50% SHR coverage and the simple count of those 

victims from the other reporting states. The second stage 

weight is used to inflate the first stage weights so that the 

weight derived from the product of the first and second 

stage weights represents all murder victims in that year 

in the United States. The difference between the sum 

of the first stage weights and the FBI’s annual national 

estimate of murder victims is the unreported murder 

victims in states with less than 50% SHR coverage and 

the murder victims in states that report no data to the 

SHR in that year. The second stage weight compensates 

for this difference by assuming that the attributes of 

the nonreported victims are similar to the attributes of 

weighted murder victims in that year’s SHR database. 

The weighting procedure outlined above assumes that 

the characteristics of unreported homicide incidents are 

similar to the characteristics of reported incidents. There 

is no comprehensive way to assess the validity of this 

assumption. 

Reporting on victim race and ethnicity 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established 

standards for federal statistical agencies regarding the 

reporting of data on race and ethnicity. These standards 

indicate that data collections should include a minimum 

of five categories on race (American Indian or Alaska 

Native; Asian; black or African American; Native Hawaiian 

or other Pacific Islander; and white) and two categories 

on ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino, and non-Hispanic or 

Latino). Data on race submitted to the FBI for the SHR 

include four categories on race, as the data collection 

form used by local law enforcement agencies to submit 

homicide data combines the two categories of Asian 

and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander into one 

category. The SHR data collection form allows for the 

reporting of information on victim ethnicity; however, on 

average from 1992 to 2011, more than 98% of homicide 

victims for whom data were reported to the SHR were 

missing information on ethnicity. Due to the lack of 

reporting of ethnicity by submitting law enforcement 

agencies, homicide rates by Hispanic or Latino origin were 

not calculated. 

Missing information on victim age, sex, 

and race

In general, SHR data are missing very little information 

on the age, sex, or race of homicide victims. On average 

from 1992 to 2011, victim age was missing for 2% of 

cases, victim sex was missing for less than 1%, and victim 

race was missing for 1%. An imputation procedure was 

developed to replace the missing victim information 

on each SHR record. This procedure used available 

information to infer the missing victim characteristics for 

incidents in which the victim and offender demographic 

characteristics and weapon information were known. 

Specifically, unknown victim data were imputed based on 

the profiles in known-victim cases, matched on victim and 

offender age, sex, and race, and weapon used. 

Counting multiple-victim homicides 

Calculating the exact number of murder victims in an 

incident is not straightforward due to the way in which 

multiple-victim homicides are reported in the SHR. 

The FBI’s reporting guidelines permit a maximum of 11 

victims and 11 offenders on each individual homicide 

incident record in the SHR data. In those rare instances 

where a crime results in more than 11 homicides, 

FBI reporting guidelines state that homicide victim 

information should be distributed across more than one 

incident record, with the offender information repeated on 

each. However, these guidelines are not always followed. 

For example, in April 2007, a student at Virginia 

Polytechnic Institute killed 32 persons. Victim 

information for this homicide incident in the FBI’s 2007 

SHR data file was allocated across four separate incident 

records. Three of the records held information on 10 

victims, and the fourth record held information on two 

victims. These four records are not linked in the SHR 

file. Without knowing that these four records represent 

a single homicide incident, an analysis of the SHR data 

would conclude that there were three incidents with 10 

victims each and one incident with two victims. 
HOMICIDE IN THE U.S. KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2011 | DECEMBER 2013 17

Pat terns & Trends

These reporting patterns make it difficult to accurately 

calculate the number of multiple homicides or mass 

murders in the United States in any given year, without 

extensive knowledge of the specific incidents. Using SHR 

data and other sources of information, BJS is working to 

establish a list of mass murders that have occurred since 

1980. Once this task is completed, BJS will produce a 

modified SHR data file that links together records from 

the same incident so that analysts will be able to document 

more precisely trends in mass murders in the United 

States. 

Additional methodological considerations 

The methodology used for this report differs slightly from 

the methodology used in past BJS reports on homicide. 

Therefore, the data presented in this report should not be 

considered comparable to prior BJS homicide publications 

(see the Homicide Trends in the United States series). In 

addition, due to concerns regarding the representativeness 

of offender information contained in the SHR data, 

information on homicide offending rates and homicide 

offender characteristics have not been included in this 

report. For more information, see “Missing information 

on homicide offenders” on page 6. 

Furthermore, many of the variables examined in this 

report may be related to one another and to other 

variables not included in the analyses. Complex 

relationships among variables were not fully explored in 

this report and warrant more extensive analysis. Readers 

are cautioned not to draw causal inferences based on the 

results presented.

Alternative sources of national homicide 

statistics 

In addition to the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide 

Reports, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) collects data on homicides in the United States, 

obtained via death certifications, through the National 

Vital Statistics System (NVSS). The two sources provide 

somewhat different estimates of the annual number 

of homicides and their characteristics. Some of these 

differences can be attributed to differences in the 

focus of the two collections. For example, currently 

the SHR captures information on all murders known 

to law enforcement that occur in the United States, 

including homicide involving victims who were not U.S. 

residents, while the NVSS collects information from 

death certificates on the homicides of all U.S. residents, 

including deaths of U.S. residents that occurred in other 

countries. These and other coverage differences help to 

explain the differences found in statistics generated from 

the two data sources. For additional information on the 

two sources of national data on homicide, see page 2 of 

this report.
Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, located in the Office of Justice Programs, 

U.S. Department of Justice, collects, analyzes, and disseminates statistical 

information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of 

justice systems at all levels of government. William J. Sabol is acting director.

This report was written by Erica L. Smith and Alexia Cooper. Ann Carson 

and Jennifer Truman provided statistical review and Sheri Simmons provided 

verification of the report.

Jill Thomas and Morgan Young edited the report, and Tina Dorsey, Barbara 

Quinn, and Morgan Young produced the report.

December 2013, NCJ 243035